The fan with plastic blades is fitted on the cap’s bill. A miniature solar panel, fixed on the crown, generates a five-volt supply to power the fan as soon as one steps out into the sun.

Bhatia who created the fan this April said that although similar solar fan caps are made by some Chinese manufacturers, his device has a solar panel that covers a larger area and thus generates more power for a better fan.

“The blades are made of plastic and are completely safe for the person wearing it. We have added a tiny switch that can be used to turn the fan on or off,” he said.

A materials manager with various firms for nearly three decades, the fact that Bhatia has sold nearly 1,000 of his ‘Solar fan caps’ at Rs400 each suggests that it’s more than a novelty.

According to the innovator, the fan generates enough air to keep one’s face and forehead cool when out in the sun.

“Since there is no question of batteries, the fan doesn’t need any charging. The cap is functional even on partly cloudy days. We’ve been receiving a lot of orders from humid cities like Kolkata where we’ve created an entire customer base out of word-of-mouth publicity,” he said.

Bhatia first got into product development with ‘No Nap’, an anti-drowsiness device meant to prevent accidents caused by sleepy drivers.

His fledgling firm Fuel Saver India, based in Sanewadi in Aundh, is dedicated to creating gadgets that run on renewable energy, mainly solar energy. He is assisted by his wife in packaging, dispatching and following up orders.